Iscar's plants in Tefen, in the western Galilee, were closed for three days due to heavy rocket fire

The war is making it difficult for Iscar, which was recently purchased by American billionaire Warren Buffett for $4 billion, to fill its export orders, according to sources in the north of the country.

Iscar's chairman, Eitan Wertheimer, who was at the company's Galilee factories yesterday, refused to comment on the report. Iscar President Jacob Harpaz said: "We are trying to do our best, we are doing as well as we can."

Iscar's plants in Tefen, in the western Galilee, were closed for three days due to heavy rocket fire in the area. The sources said that yesterday, nearly all the employees were back at work. But Iscar's foreign clients expect to receive their orders on time. "Our customers don't really care about what's happening here. None of them asks about the situation," Harpaz said yesterday.

Asked whether Buffett would be coming for a visit in September, as scheduled, Harpaz said: "We are focusing on much more important things. We are busy with work."

The Wertheimer Group includes Iscar, Blades Technology and Techjet. The sources said that between 60 and 80 percent of the work force has been showing up at Techjet every day, while attendance at Blades Technology is "partial."

Iscar is owned by Buffett. Blades Technology, which manufactures blades for engines, is owned by the American company Pratt & Whitney (50 percent) and the Wertheimer family (50 percent).

A few days before fighting broke out on July 12, Buffett paid $4 billion for his 80 percent stake in Iscar. A few days later, Wertheimer said that the Iscar plant was working as usual, and that Buffett had not asked him about the security situation and its implications for the company.

"Buffett invested in Iscar because of its financial results, and there is no reason for them to change," Wertheimer said. "We've gone through periods like this, and more difficult ones too. We are continuing to work as usual."

To get the latest from HaaretzFollow @HaaretzomLike us on Facebook and get articles directly in your news feed

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, and analysis from Israel and the Middle East.
Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict,
the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.